Mumbai South: Yamini Jadhav no match for Arvind Sawant

Jadhav was picked to appeal to Marathis while also enjoying support from the minority community. Sawant has been part of the constituency for the last decade

Sixty-seven-year-old Arvind Sawant, who is a two-time sitting MP representing Shiv Sena (UBT) from Mumbai South, won the seat for the third time. He garnered 3,95,655 votes and defeated the Shiv Sena’s Yamini Jadhav, the MLA from Byculla, by 52,673 votes. Jadhav was picked by CM Eknath Shinde to appeal to Marathi voters while also enjoying support from the minority community. Sawant, on the other hand, has been an eternal part of the Mumbai South constituency for the last decade.

Mahavikas Aghadi candidate from Mumbai South Lok Sabha Constituency and Shiv Sena (UBT) Party`s MP Arvind Sawant. (Photo by Raju Shinde/ Hindustan Times)

Sawant was in the lead for most of the day, but not by a large margin. In round 1 of counting, Jadhav was leading in areas like Byculla, Malabar Hill and Colaba, and had secured 22,978 votes as against Sawant’s 19,995. In the subsequent 19 rounds, Sawant was in the lead. In rounds 3 and 6, Jadhav had a major setback from Mumbadevi constituency with 1,514 and 2,085 votes, while Sawant bagged 6,937 and 5,356 votes. In round 7, 5,465 people voted for Sawant in Colaba as against 1,063 for Jadhav. Byculla, which was Jadhav’s bastion, also voted for Sawant with 5,574 votes as against 2,441 for Jadhav. But Worli, Sewri and Mumbadevi consistently voted for Sawant.

According to the Election Commission of India, Mumbai South had a voter turnout of 50.06% in the 2024 elections. The areas under the constituency include Worli, Sewri, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Mumbadevi, and Colaba after delimitation in 2008.

From 1952 to 1967, this seat was held by the Congress. The spell was broken by George Fernandes, who ran under the banner of the United Socialist Party and secured victory in the 1967 elections. In 1971, the seat returned to Congress.

From 1977 to 1984, it was held by the Indian Lok Dal and the Janata Party. Thereafter, from 1984 to 1996, the Congress’ Murli Deora enjoyed a monopoly. His spell was broken by BJP’s Jayawantiben Mehta in 1996 and then again in 1999. In 2004, Deora’s son Milind Deora won the seat on a Congress ticket. He was re-elected in 2009, before losing to Sawant in 2014. Sawant has held the seat since.